Dinner is within sight !

Oh my, look what I've been given - the first courgette of the season !  Isn't it a beauty .. one of my colleagues has a courgette plant in his greenhouse and had been away for a couple of days and somehow I've ended up as the lucky recipient .. it got lots of admiring attention in the office (note to self - give it a good scrub !!)

In comparison, here are mine ... I think another week and I'll be harvesting - yipppppppeeeeeee

Potatoes are flowering ... and this variety is, erm ... will get back to you on that !!

These are Vic's tomatoes

and these are mine  ... still at the flowering stage :/  The plants were planted at the same time, but Vic's greenhouse is warmer and larger than mine.  I suspect he is also better than me at feeding them !  I've clearly been very remiss at removing side shoots as some of them were almost sizeable plants.

In contrast here are my neighbours ... he actually ate his first two ripe plum tomatoes with his tea tonight !  **astonishing**  He bought young plants from the local nursery in February and kept them safe under a fleece tent in a heated greenhouse ... there was a period when they were quite spindly, but look at them now.  Am I envious ... nope ... not.one.jot.dot.com .... pffftttt

My neighbour is also growing melons - I think the variety is Gala.  He's got about 10 that have set so far ... he claims to have green fingers and in all honesty I can't really disagree !  Lets hope some of it rubs off on me

I ate my first strawberry earlier in the week !  Yummy.  I noticed tonight that quite a few of them have started to colour.  Interestingly the strawberries in the outside beds are also colouring up, so little difference between indoors / outdoors.

I think this is a Tayberry perhaps ?! Guess time will tell

The peonies are about to bloom ... one of my most favourite flowers.  I can't wait ... I might have to snip some for the house

Here are some of the globe artichokes ... tiny this season, but wait until 2015!!! they'll be pretty fine ... can't wait.  In the meantime it'll be supermarket artichokes this year for me & OH :( :(

The mange tout has just started to flower.  I've now completely given up on finding pea sticks and the plants are running rampant.  Plan b  ?? ... just let them get on with it LOL !

This is my neighbour's red currant bush - here is the first ripe currant :)

Here are some of the flowers around the plot ... enjoy